1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cyclone dust separating apparatus mounted in a vacuum cleaner to separate dust from air drawn in from a surface being cleaned.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general cyclone dust separating apparatuses, impurities (hereinafter, referred to as ‘dust’) are separated from external drawn-in air using a centrifugal force, and the separated dust is collected in a dust collection chamber. Having advantages in lifespan and hygiene in comparison with a conventionally-used dust bag, the cyclone dust separating apparatus has been widely used in a vacuum cleaner nowadays.
A conventional cyclone dust separating apparatus comprises a cyclone chamber having a tubular shape so that drawn-in air rotates therein, an air inlet, and an air outlet. The air inlet is connected tangentially to an upper sidewall of the cyclone chamber for smooth rotation of the air. The air outlet is disposed at an upper end of the cyclone chamber so that the air descending in a rotating manner and ascending back in the cyclone chamber is guided to the outside of the cyclone dust separating apparatus. However, in the conventional cyclone dust separating apparatus having the above structure, the descending rotary air and the ascending air unavoidably collides with each other in the cyclone chamber because both the air inlet and the air outlet are disposed at the upper part of the cyclone chamber, thereby deteriorating dust separating efficiency of the cyclone dust separating apparatus.
In order to overcome such deterioration of the dust separating efficiency, a multi-cyclone dust separating apparatus has been developed and practically used in a vacuum cleaner. The multi-cyclone dust separating apparatus has a first cyclone chamber for separating relatively larger dust and a plurality of second cyclone chambers for separating relatively smaller dust. In general multi-cyclone dust separating apparatus, the first cyclone chamber is disposed in the center while the second cyclone chambers are annularly arranged around the first cyclone chamber.
However, because the air inlet and the air outlet of the first cyclone chamber are both disposed at the upper part thereof in the conventional multi-cyclone dust separating apparatus, arrangement of the second chambers is restricted because the second cyclone chambers should not interfere with the air inlet.